Alyssa and Cory

Love and fate had a funny way of bringing Alyssa and Cory together.  Involved in the crazy journey they have had so far include a pool, fire hydrant, food, and a ring.

First off, the pool.  Despite being involved in swimming and hailing from bordering towns, they didn’t know each other until meeting in Green Bay, WI as members of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay swim teams. Cory was a Junior Captain of the Men’s team when Alyssa started her career as a student athlete.  They both had their eyes on each other from the start but Cory was convinced he had to stay away from dating women swimmers and Alyssa was too intimidated to express her feelings to the upper classman. But, being swimmers, they had no choice but to spend time with each other and eventually love found its way to them and they couldn’t avoid it anymore.

Then there’s the fire hydrant. What does a fire hydrant have to do with a couple getting married? Well, in this case, everything. Even people reading this for the first time don’t know this whole story. Within the first few months of dating, Alyssa was leaving for a week to visit family. She decided to stop at Cory’s to say goodbye. Before leaving, Cory said the words he couldn’t take back, ever. “I love you.” Alyssa left Cory’s after this and, one minute later, was calling Cory. Let’s take a minute to give the setting. It’s a beautiful summer day with the sun shining high in the sky. Fire hydrants are set about 2-3 feet in from the street blocked by a curb in the neighborhood. Somehow, Alyssa hit one of these elusive fire hydrants with her car at the end of the street. Was she on the phone at the time? No. How could this have happened? Still, no one knows. Apparently Cory’s words were too much for Alyssa and took over most of her brain and she forgot she was driving. That is the only explanation. This incident was scary at first but ended up bringing their relationship closer as they viewed it as a sign they were meant to be together. They must be nuts.

Mmmmm, food. It turns out Alyssa loves to cook. Cory loves her. That is all.

Finally, the ring. Talk about marriage had been in conversation for at least a year at this point. They knew they were going to be together forever.  The only obstacle was that Alyssa was two years younger and planned to get her Master’s degree right after her undergrad. Cory had already graduated trying to figure out his life, which included Alyssa. After moving back to MN after graduating, he couldn’t be that far away from her. At the time, Alyssa was interning for a company. A job opened up there and Cory jumped on the opportunity to move back to Green Bay to be with her. Talks about marriage continued but nothing was being done about it. Or so Alyssa thought. Cory had been talking with a great family friend who happens to be a jeweler.  The jeweler laid out options for Cory, and despite the heavy price tag, Cory was in awe of one in particular. With the help of his family friend, Cory was able to get the ring and a diamond at great price. It was perfect for her. Despite the fact that Cory already had a THE ring for her, she hinted trying to get him to go with her to look at rings so he could get an idea of what she wants. This went on for a couple months until Thanksgiving. Cory planned on popping the question earlier but waited. He finally decided the day after Thanksgiving gave him that opportunity. Alyssa was out shopping on this black Friday and asked if Cory wanted to join. Of course, he didn’t want to shop, but he viewed this as an opportunity. During the shopping, Alyssa still hinted at checking out rings by acknowledging all the “shiny things” they were seeing. Cory decided to tell her that her friend and her mom (which she knows) was working at their jewelry store today and expected to see Cory to look at gifts for his sister.  Alyssa exclaimed that she would love to go look at rings and was ecstatic that Cory finally had the courage to go with her. Little did she know as they pulled into the parking lot, with Cory complaining that he was afraid to go in to find her the perfect ring, that Cory actually had the perfect ring in his pocket. Perfect ring, perfect opportunity. After she said “Yes” and the tears stopped, they were calling all their friends and family, who had no idea. Everyone is very excited for the wedding, which promises to be an unforgettable day, for everyone.